Duty imposed on steel, aluminium on security grounds, not safeguard measures: US to India in WTO

The US has informed the global trade body WTO that the decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium, was based on national security grounds and should not be considered as safeguard measures, according to a communication. The US shared this response with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after India requested consultations under the WTO's Safeguards Agreement on April 11 with America.

India has said that notwithstanding the USA's characterisation of these measures as security measures, they are in essence safeguard measures.

It has also stated that America has failed to notify the WTO Committee on Safeguards under a provision of the Agreement on Safeguards (AoS) on taking a decision to apply safeguard measures.

"The US notes that the premise for India's request for consultations under Article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards is that the tariffs are safeguard measures.... The (US) President imposed the tariffs on steel and aluminum pursuant to Section 232, under which the President determined that tariffs are necessary to adjust imports of steel and aluminum articles that threaten to impair the national security of the US," America has said in a communication, dated April 17, to the trade body.

The US also said that Section 232 is a national security statute, and the tariffs are being kept in place under the security exception allowed under a provision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.

It added that the tariffs were not imposed under a provision of the Trade Act of 1974, which is the law under which the US imposes safeguard measures.

"The United States is not maintaining these actions pursuant to the safeguards / emergency action provision...These actions are not safeguard measures and, therefore, there is no basis to conduct consultations under the Agreement on Safeguards with respect to these measures," the US added.

"Accordingly, India's request for consultations...has no basis in the Agreement on Safeguards," it said adding "nonetheless, we are open to discuss this or any other issue with India".

On March 8, 2018, the US promulgated safeguard measures on certain steel and aluminium articles by imposing 25 per cent and 10 per cent ad valorem tariffs respectively. It came into effect from March 23, 2018.

On February 10 this year, the US revised the safeguard measures on imports of steel and aluminium articles, effective from March 12, 2025, and with an unlimited duration, the communication said.